Peeler



Feb. l, 1938. R, p, DE VAULT 2,106,796

PEELER Filed March 26, 1935 Arr-aezwsx Patented Feb. l, 1938Y l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE* 16 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to a device designed primarily for paring vegetables or fruit, such as potatoes, apples, pears, or the like.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character including a pivoted blade so constructed that the blade, during the peeling or paring operation, will follow the contour of the article under treatment, to the end that the blade will move readily over irregularities on the surface of the article, thereby insuring against the blade cutting too deep, with the resultant waste.

A further object of the invention is to provide means on the body portion for cutting away the eyes of potatoes, or spoiled portions of the fruit or vegetables being prepared.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the character set forth hereinabove in which the cutting blade is mounted for limited rotation and is provided with a guide strip or member spaced from the cutting edge in such a manner that the cutting edge of the blade will be held adjustably in a desired cutting relation to the surface of the vegetable orfruit to be peeled. A special feature of the device resides in the placing oi'the axis of partial rotation of the cutting blade in such position that a tendency for rotation of the blade will not be produced by the force which is applied thereto to move the n ,same forwardly so as to produce a cutting action; therefore, either digging in of the blade or the swinging of the"blade out of proper cutting engagement with the surfaceor skin of the fruit or vegetable will be avoided.

Afurther object bf the inventionis to provide a device of the above character which may be easily handled or manipulated so as to facilitate the peeling operation which it is designed to accomplish, and which device operates with noticeable ease and eiliciency by reason oi. the provision therein of a very narrow blade. Also, by reason of the position of the handle with relation to the blade, a very noticeable ease and eiiiciency of operation is obtained, since the pressure or force .15 for operating the knife is applied in substantial alignment with the cutting eifect instead of to thev the cutting edge so that there will be' novforces (ci. ao-zso) Fig. 2 isa plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the longitudinal line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line Fig. 5 is a plan view of another form of vmy invention in which thehandle is made from round bar stock.

Fig. 6 is aperspective view of theknii'e member shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken as indicated by the line 1`i of Fig. 5, this view showing the manner -in which force is applied to move the blade member forwardly to 'perform a cutting operation.

'I'he form oi the invention shown in Figs. 1

v to 4 of the drawing includes a handle or body portion which may be readily formed from strip stock, this body portion comprising parallel leg members or cutter supports 5 which are con- 12'0 nected by a handle portion 6. The leg membersY are-preferably held in spaced relation and essentially parallel by the use of a brace rodf'i which is shown with its ends connected to the leg members 5. 25

As clearly shown, in Figs. 1 and 3, the forward upper edges ofthe leg members 5 may be out away at 8, and the.ends of the leg members 5 are provided with openings 9a to receive pins or trunnions 9 which extend from a narrow-blade i0. These pins 9. projecting into the openings 9a, support the blade I 0 in suchia manner that it may have limited rotation while in use, as will be hereinafter described. The blade I0 is connected to the pins 9 by means of end walls IM which 35 extend rearwardly, or rightwardly, and connect to the ends of a rod ll which is spaced from the blade --Iii so as to leave a slot or opening lia.

'I'he blade i0 is arranged at an oblique angle vwith respect to the rod li so that when the blade i0 and the rod il are applied to the surface of an article i'l to be peeled, 4as shown inr Fig. 3, the cutting edge of the blade I0 will be directed not only forwardly in the direction of the cut to be takenbut also downwardly at such an angle that the cutting edge of -the blade will cut into the surface of the article i'l which is to bepeeled.

V'I'he axis of partial rotation dened by the pins 9 is disposed between the cutting edge of the blade Ill and-the lower portion' of the rod VI I. Accordingly, when the peeling device is moved forwardly, lin thisinstance rightwardly, the motivating force which is applied on the axis defined by the pins 9 will be essentially directly ahead 'of i r f'actiigias the result ofthe application of the cut' ting force to swing the cutting edge upwardly or downwardly above or below the forward line of movement. Therefore, the cutting member cornprised of vthe blade il and the 'rod Il will rest against-the surface ofthe article i1 without the necessity for application vof a heavy downward pressure..

From the foregoing, it will be seen that due to the construction shown and described. the blade will be guided in itsvoperation, so that the blade wilroperate at a predetermineddepth, and the paringwill be of a uniform thickness, thus eliminating waste.

Extending laterally from one of the leg members is a blade indicated by the reference char, acter l2, which blade has a pointed extremity I3 adapted to stick into the article undertreatment, so that the eyes of potatoes, or spoiled portions of thevegetables or fruit being pared, may be readily removed. The blade i2'is secured to the body portion by means of rivets I4. and IB, the head of the rivet Il extending inwardly an appreciable distance where it is engaged by the rod ii, restricting movement of the blade il.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. l to 4 inclusive has a supporting structure consisting of the cutter supports l and the handle l made by bending a piece of ribbon metal to the desired form shown. In Fig. 5 I show a form of my lnvention in which the lsupporting member 2l vis made from a lengthof bar stock 2| bent so as to form a pair of projecting legs 22 and 2l, the rearward ends of thelegs 22 and 23 being Joined by a semi-circular bend 24. The handle 2l formed by bending the rod 2| in the manner described may be reinforced by securing a flat plate 2l between the intermediate portions1 of the legs 22 and 22. 'I'his fiat plate may be soldered to the legs 22 and 23 at the points 21 and 2l. 'Ihe extreme ends 29 and 2l of the -legs 22 and 2l are preferably flattened, as shown, to provide cutter supports lying on a line disposed in crossing relation to the longitudinal centerline or line of 1 movement of the handle 2l, and the'end 2l is 'extended forwardly and is curved and sharpened as shown at 32 to form a trimming blade suitable 'for lifting out the eyes of potatoes, cutting out bad spots, etc. The forward portion of the leg 2l may be bent outwardly relative to the leg 22, as shown at 32, so' that a 'space will be provided between the flattened portions 2l and 30 to receive a peeling'knife or cutter 24 consisting of a cutting blade 35 havinga cutting edge 20, and a guide bar 31 joined to the cutting blade 35 by meansof end walls 28. From the end members 'Il trunnions I9 extend through openings 4i in the flattened portions 2l and 30 of the legs 22 and 23.

.Theknife 24 is preferably stamped from. sheet metal, andthe trunnions I9, as shown in-Fig'. 6, consistin extensions ofithe sheet metal which are vrolled up to'"substantially'tubular or cylindrical form. It will be noted that the knife 3l, as best :shown in Fig. 7, has the blade 35 and the guide bar 31 thereof disposed in angular relation to a plane A--A extending across the lower` portions thereof. The lower face 42 of the blade 25 is disblade I5 than to the bar I1. In 'the form of the invention shown, the axis of rotation is substantially one-third the distance from the cutti edge to the bar 31. Accordingly, when the knife member-3l is placed against the surface of an articlel u which is to be peeled, both the blade and the bar 31 will move into engagement with the surface of the article u, and accordingly the cutting angle of the blade li will automatically assume the desired relation to the surface of the article I4, so that when the peeling device is moved in forward or rightward direction. as shown in li'lg.A '1, the blade Il will cut into the article wand remove a strip of peel ll therefrom. The line of pull which is along the'centerline and is exerted through the handle 2l and the trunnions II to the blade 2i is substantially directly forwardly of the cutting edge of the blade l5, the result beingthat the cutting operation may be y performed with a minimum pressure of the member u against the surface of the article 44.

It will be noted that the blade shown at Iii and 3l in the drawing is very narrow. I have-found that an efliclentpeeling action may be accomplished by the use of this narrow blade by reason y of the fact that the blade readily follows thecontour of the article to be peeled. For example, a narrow blade of the character. shown will 'readily drop into hollows and continue its peeling action, where a wide blade such as ordinarily employed will pass over such hollows, leaving spots unpeeled where the article must be later trimmed to remove the same. By narrow ls meant a blade which has a width from two to ve times itsy thickness. The members 3,5 and 31 are formed from a pair of bars extending in side by side relation and being supported in operative association by the connection of their ends4 withthe end members 3B. When the handle 25 is manually grasped and is manipulated so asto move the cutter member 3l along the longitudinal .gen- .terline or line of movement of the handle 2l and in engagement with the surface of the article to be peeled, the bar 21 will ride ahead of the blade 2l and guide the same over the contours of the article.

Although I have herein shown and described my invention in simple and practical form, it is recognized that Ycertain parts orv elements thereof are representative of other parts, elements, or mechanisms which may be used in substantially the same manner to accomplish substantially the same results;- therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention: l

1. A paring device comprising .a body portion embodyingia length of metal bent intermediate its ends providing a handle and parallel leg members, a cutter pivotally mounted between the free end portions of the parallel leg members, said cutter embodying a pair of end members, a blade secured to the end members, a rod connecting the y end members and disposed in spaced relation with the blade and providing a guide for theA blade, .and trunnions extending outwardly from said vend members for pivotal engagement with said leg members, said trunnions being so positioned as -to define an axis of rotation between the lower -portions of said blade and said rod and lying ,substantially in the plane defined by the lower -edges 'of said blade andvsaid rod.

2. A paring device of the character described,

Icomprising: a body including a handle member 'formed so as to be grasped in operative position in one of the hands of a user whereby it may be ports, said trunnions being so positioned as to define anaxis of rotation between the' lower portions of said blade and said rod.

3. A paring device of the character'described,

comprising: a body including-a handle member and a pair of spaced supports; and a cutter pivotally mounted between said spaced supports, said cutter embodying a pair of end members, a blade secured to the end members, a rod connecting the end members and disposed in spaced relation with the blade and providing a guide for the blade, and trunnions extending outwardly from said end members for pivotal engagement with said supports, said trunnions being so positioned as to define an axis of rotation between the lower portions of saidblade and said rod and lying substantially in the plane defined by the lower edges of said blade and said rod.

4. A paring device of the character described, including: a knife member comprising a guide bar, a knife blade substantially parallel to said guide bar with the cutting edge thereof facing toward said guide bar, and pivot means connected tc the adjacent ends of said guide bar and said knife blade; a supporting member providing a pair of supports in spaced relation and engaging said pivot means so that said knife member will be pivotaliy supported thereby; a handle extending from'said supporting member on a line which crosses the line defined by the cutting edge of said knife blade, said handle member being formed so as to be grasped in operative position in one hand of the user whereby it may be manually moved across an article to be peeled held in the other hand of the user; and stop means for limiting the rotation of said knife member.

5. A paring device of the character described, comprising: a body including a handle member and a pair of spaced supports; and a cutter pivotally mounted between said spaced supports, said cutter embodying a pair of endmembers, a blade secured to the end members, a. rod connecting the end members and disposed in spaced relation with the blade and providing a guide for the blade,

and trunnions' extending outwardly from said end members for pivotal engagement with said supports, said trunnions being so positioned as to define an axis of rotation between the lower portions of said blade and said rod and lying substantially in theplane dened by the lower edges of said blade and s aid rod.

6. A cutter member for a paring device'of the character described, including: a pair of end members; a blade secured to the end members; la rod connecting the end members and disposed in spaced relation with the blade and providing a guide for the blade; and trunnions extending outwardly from said end members for pivotal engagement with supports, said trunnions being so positioned as to define an axis of rotation between the lower portions of said blade and said rod` and lying substantially in the plane defined by the lower edges of said blade and said rod.

'7. A peeler blade of the character described, comprising: a metal stamping having the, form of an elongated loop consistingv of a pair. of oppositely disposed end members and a blade member and a guide bar in parallel relationship, the ends of said blade member and guide bar being joined to said end members, and there being trunnion members projecting from said end members, said trunnion members leach consisting of a portion o! the` metal stamping rolled up so1 as to form a tubular'element. a

8. A peeler blade of the character described, comprising: a metal stamping having the form of an elongated loop consisting of a pair of end members curved transversely to the length of said metal stamping, and a blade member and a guide. `bai' disposed in parallel relationship, the ends ,of

said blade member and said guide bar being joined to said end members and there being trunnions projecting from said end members, said trunnions each consisting of a portion of the metal stamping rolled up so as to produce a trunnion having a diametral dimension greater than the thickness of the metal stamping.

9. A' peeler blade of the character described,

formed so as to produce a trunnion member of greater diametral dimension than the thickness of the metal from which said stamping is formed.

10. A peeler blade of the character described, comprising: a metal stamping having the form of an elongated channel with a longitudinal s lot along the bottom thereof and providing an elongated loop consisting of a pair of end members extended transversely to the length of said metal 'stamping and `a blade member and guide bar disposed in parallel relationship, the ends of said blade member and said guide member being joined to said end members and said end members beingl formed so as to provide pivot means for said peeler blade.

l1, A rotatable cutter member of lthe character described adapted to be secured between spaced supports of a handle member, including: a

pair of end members; a blade connecting said end members; and a rod connecting the end members andbeing disposed in spaced relation to said blade so as to form a guide therefor, there being pivot means for connecting said end members -to said spaced supports of said handle.

ing a guide for the other of said bars, and'said other bar being sloped downwardly toward said guide bar `and having the lower edge thereof sharpened to form a cutting edge, .there being means for connecting said end portions of said stamping to said spaced supports of said handle member, said pivot means denning an axis oi rotation disposed between the lower portions oi stamping will have the shape ot a channel with a slot inthe bottom thereof, one oi' said bars forming a guide for the other oi said bars and the other of said bars having its lower edge sharp-- ened so as to form a cutting edge. there being means for pivotally connecting said end portions of said stamping to said spaced supports of said handle member.

14. A rotatable cutter member of the'character described adapted to be secured between spaced -supports of a handle member, comprising: a stamping comprising an elongated channel having a, slot in the bottom thereof between a pair of parallel longitudinal bars, the lower edge of oneot said bars being sharpened to iorm a cuttingvedge and the other oi said bars serving as a guidefor said first named bar, the ends of said stamping being formed so as to provide pivotal connection of said stamping with said spacedl supports of said handle member.l

15. A paring device of the character described, comprising: avbody forming a handle member shaped so as to be grasped in one hand of the the other hand of the user. having a pair oi' spacedsupports lyingona disposed in crossing relation to centerline oi' said handle member: and

member pivotaily mounted. between said supports. said cutter member' thereby moved across an article to be peeled, said handiememberhavingapairofspacedsupports lying on a line disposed in crossing relation to the longitudinal centerline oi' said handle member;andacuttermemberdisposedbetween tnelnnsmmmn 

